


I'll See You in My Seat

by hazelNuts



Series: Prompt Fics [20]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 09:53:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3442778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/pseuds/hazelNuts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>anonymous asked,"AU where a stranger (Stiles) sits next to Derek on the train and Stiles smells so good that Derek can't stop thinking about him and keeps trying to subtly sniff him (although Stiles totally notices and is amused before confronting him about it). Please and thank you~!"</p><p>anonymous asked,"we take the same train to work every morning but you always take the good seat so I glare at you until you let me sit there au (it's Derek's fav seat)"</p><p>anonymous asked,"'this person just fell asleep on me in the subway but they're cute so whatever' AU (stiles as the sleepy person in question)"</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll See You in My Seat

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really bad at tagging. If you think I forgot any, please let me know in the comments.
> 
> Originally posted on [letswritesterek](http://letswritesterek.tumblr.com/).

After having lived in New York for almost two years, Derek had learned to love almost everything about the city. The people, the sounds, the coffee, even the smells weren’t bothering him anymore. The only thing he still hated, was the morning rush. Taking the subway at the same time as a million other people, was a horrible way to start your day. Which was why he’d decided to start his a little earlier.

Sure, he arrived at the office at an ungodly hour, but at least he was able to sit the entire ride there.

Until the Seat Stealer had arrived. Every Tuesday through Friday, the same guy stole Derek’s seat. And it wasn’t that Seat Stealer didn’t know it was Derek’s seat.

The first time it had happened Derek had glared until the guy had moved. It took longer than he’d hoped for the guy to notice him, and was only able to sit for a minute before they arrived at his stop.

The next day, Seat Stealer had been waiting for him. The moment Derek boarded the train, a shit-eating grin had spread across the guy’s face. He hadn’t taken his eyes of Derek’s for the entire ride. And again, Seat Stealer hadn’t moved until the stop before Derek’s.

It kept going like that. Seat Stealer would be there, in _his_ seat, when Derek boarded. He would stay there until he felt like getting up, no matter how intense Derek made his glare. Often, by the time Seat Stealer got up, the people that were sitting next to him had cleared their seats.

Two weeks into their little game, Derek’s seat was empty. He looked around, trying to see if Seat Stealer had started pestering someone else.

He hoped not. Seat Stealer was kind of an asshole, but a cute asshole, with messy brown hair, large doe-eyes and an upturned nose Derek really wanted to touch. Because apparently cute assholes were Derek’s type.

But Seat Stealer wasn’t anywhere to be found.

~

When Derek stepped onto the train the next day and found his seat taken, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t even realised how worried he’d been. The guy had probably just missed his train yesterday.

But before he could get into his glaring position, Seat Stealer vacated the seat and started moving down the train, to another empty seat.

Things definitely weren’t okay. Derek grabbed the guy’s wrist and pulled him back.

‘You okay?’ he asked, still surprised by how much he cared.

‘I’m fine.’

He really wasn’t. He looked pale and there were bags under his eyes. His hair was a mess. And not in the ‘I haven’t combed it in three days’ look he usually had, but more an ‘I’m really stressed so I keep pulling at it’ way.

Derek glared at the college kid sitting in the seat next to his. The kid squeaked and ran to the other side of the car.

‘Sit,’ Derek ordered.

The guy obeyed with a sighed, ‘I’m fine.’

Derek observed him. He was hunched in his seat, all the cockiness of the past two weeks, gone.

‘No, you’re not.’

‘Why do you care?’ Seat Stealer asked.

He shrugged. He honestly didn’t know.

‘It’s just- My dad, he had a close call yesterday.’

‘What happened?’

‘He’s the Sheriff, back home. There was a shooting and he got hit. Just a scratch, but it scared the shit out of me,’ the guy explained, his voice strained and shoulders tensing.

‘I get it,’ he said, squeezing the hand he was still holding. ‘My sister’s a cop. Works Vice. I used to make her text me every hour, so I would know she was okay.’

Seat Stealer squeezed back gratefully.

‘Hey, what’s your favourite coffee?’ the guy asked moments before Derek had to get off.

‘Cappuccino, extra foam, three sugars. Why?’

‘See you tomorrow,’ was all Derek got for an answer.

There was a tug at the corner of Seat Stealer’s mouth. It was not quite a smile, but it was enough of one to put a bounce in Derek’s step.

~

The next day, Seat Stealer was once again waiting for him. He sat up when Derek got on and leaned forward to hand him a coffee.

‘Cappuccino, extra foam and three sugars,’ he said.

‘Thanks,’ Derek responded, stunned.

Seat Stealer shook his head.

‘No, thank you. For yesterday.’

‘So I get coffee but not my seat?’

‘Not unless you can make him move,’ Seat Stealer said, pointing at the man next to him.

Thirty seconds later, Seat Stealer moved one over and Derek sat down in his customary seat. He spun the cup in his hands, trying to think of something to say, when the writing on it caught his eye.

‘ _Eyebrows of Doom_?’ he asked.

‘Well, I didn’t know your real name and you have some serious eyebrow-game, dude,’ Seat Stealer grinned. He looked a lot better than yesterday. The bags under his eyes were gone and that mischievous twinkle was back.

‘It’s Derek.’

‘Hi, Derek. I’m Stiles.’

‘That makes a lot more sense than Seat Stealer.’

Stiles laughed at that, a real one, and Derek hid his own proud smile behind his cup.

Just like that, a new ritual was born. Stiles waited in Derek’s seat every day, with an extra cup of coffee. He wouldn’t move until Derek has successfully glared away any of the people sitting next to him.

They talked now, too. Well, Stiles talked. Derek mostly just listened.

He found out a lot about the guy who’d been stealing his seat for the past few weeks. Stiles worked as a teacher. He was from California, the woodsy northern part, not the sunny southern part. He was an avid Mets fan and would defend them till his dying breath. His lashes were impossibly long. His fingers were the most captivating things on the planet. And he smelled amazing.

Derek had tried to pinpoint the scent. He’d surreptitiously sniffed the air around Stiles, until the guy had turned to him with a questioning gaze. Derek had quickly shoved his coffee cup under his nose to pretend he was sniffing his drink. After another week Derek had given up his attempts to identify that smell and simply scooted a little closer, so he could enjoy whatever it was that came off Stiles.

~

In the weeks that they’d been riding the train to work in the morning, Derek had never once seen Stiles on his ride back home. He’d thought about leaving early so they could ride back together a couple days a week, but his workload wouldn’t allow it.

That was why, when Derek took the train back one evening, he froze for a moment when he saw Stiles sitting in his seat.

‘Hey,’ Stiles said, perking up.

‘Hey.’

The train was almost empty so Derek didn’t have to glare anyone out of their seat before he could get his own back.

‘Late night?’

‘I hate parent-teacher conferences,’ was all Stiles said.

Derek nodded and patted him on the head sympathetically, at which Stiles promptly placed his head on his shoulder. He was asleep ten seconds later.

Derek thought of waking him, but Stiles looked so peaceful, he decided not to disturb the poor guy. It was kind of stupid anyway. Why would he wake the cute guy that had decided to use him as a pillow? It would have the undesired result of the cute guy removing his head.

As they neared Derek’s stop, though, the moment when had to wake up the cute guy neared as well. He prodded Stiles’ thigh.

‘Wake up,’ he said. ‘I have to get off.’

‘I’m not asleep,’ Stiles mumbled. He lifted his head, looking at Derek with determination in his eyes. ‘And don’t.’

‘Don’t what?’

‘Don’t get off. Have dinner with me.’

Derek felt a grin threatening to split his face in two.

‘Okay.’

‘Awesome. We have to get off three stops after yours. Prod me again when we’re there.’

He put his head back on Derek’s shoulder and tangled their fingers together.

Derek buried his grin in Stiles’ hair and placed a light kiss on top of his head.

‘Okay,’ he whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on [tumblr](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/).


End file.
